A Matter of Obligation: Mrs Montagu & Mrs Sterne

A letter discovered in the Royal Berkshire Archive sheds new light on the relationship between Elizabeth Sterne and her cousin Elizabeth Montagu, the famous Bluestocking. Montagu intervened with the Archbishop of York on Mrs Sterne’s behalf regarding the cost of rebuilding the parsonage at Coxwold. As Sterne had not left a will, his widow and daughter were left in a state of financial uncertainty, and it was Montagu who took charge of the situation, appointing an administrator to the estate and using her own considerable social capital on their behalf. The Elizabeth Montagu Correspondence Online (EMCO) digital edition of Montagu’s letters also contains information that paints a picture of the relationship between the two women, and of Montagu’s sense that, while she did not like her cousin, she was under an obligation to support a family member who had fallen on hard times.